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American Civil War: Resources in Special Collections

A guide to resources on the American Civil War using materials from the University of Maryland Special Collections in Hornbake Library.

Choosing a Topic

Use the Subject Headings below to search the catalog for resources on the Civil War.  You may also consult the Books by Topic pages in this guide for bibliographies and search tips for researching more specific topics, including:

Search the UMD Catalog

Search the library catalog to find books, periodicals, and other material from University of Maryland's libraries. 

For a basic search, enter a search term into the box below.  You can search by keyord, author, title, and subject heading.

Suggested Subject Headings

Use these subject terms when searching the University of Maryland Library online catalog. Select "Subject beginning with..." on the drop-down menu. Then enter one of the terms below.

  • Confederate States of America History

  • Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877)

  • United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865

  • United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- African American

  • United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Biography

  • United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Chronology

  • United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Economic aspects

  • United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Fiction

  • United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Hospitals

  • United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Literature and the war

  • United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Manpower

  • United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Medical care

  • United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Naval operations

  • United States History Civil War, 1861-1865 Peace

  • United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Poetry

  • United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Prisoners and prisons

  • United States History Civil War, 1861-1865 Secret service

  • United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Social aspects

  • United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Songs and music

  • United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Veterans

Locating Books in the Maryland Room

You can use the College Park Advanced Search to locate materials using more specific search criteria.  In the word search boxes enter keywords, such as "Battle of Antietam", using the all fields option. 

For a more narrow search, you can change the all fields option to specify keywords in the title or subject categories.  A list of suggested subject headings is available on the right.

Limiting the location to Marylandia & Rare Books will return materials available in the Maryland Room, including items from the Maryland Collection, Rare Books, and Special Collections.  You can also limit the location to Archives to find materials from the University Publications, University Records, Historic Manuscripts, and other archival collections. 

Searching UMD Theses/Dissertations

Print versions of Master's theses and Doctoral dissertations completed at the University of Maryland are available in the Maryland Room.  These publications are a rich source of bibliographic information and specialized research.  Theses and dissertations are searchable in the online catalog

You may also search for dissertations and theses using DRUM: Digital Repository at the University of Maryland. DRUM is searchable by keyword, author, title, department, and date.  It provides online access to digitized dissertations and theses in PDF form. 

For more information about searching theses and dissertations, visit the Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries subject guide.